Sharpener for razor-blades and the like.



'T. SAKATA'. SHARPENER FOR RAZOR BLADES AND THE LIKE. AF'PLIOATION FILED1330.23, 1913.

1,1001398. Patented June 16,1914.

wzegses I flu/enter Tempo AMaza UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TERUO SAKATA, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,

SHARPENER FOR RAZOR-BLADES AND THE LIKE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TERUO SAKATA, a subject of the Emperor of Japan,residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Sharpener for Razor-Bladesand the like, of which the following is a specification.

This device relates to that class of in ventions adapted to more or lessautomatically hone and strop razor blades and the like.

in object of this invention is to effect honing and stropping of theblade with more precision than can be accomplished by hand and at thesame time by movements that will approximate the movements generated inhoning and stropping by hand, thus gaining the beneficial effects of thehand honing and str-opping and avoiding objectionable variations in.pressure and variation in the angle of application of the blade to thehone or strop incident to hand honing and stropping.

Another object is to effect the foregoing by simple construction so asto minimize cost of production of the device and so as to substantiallyprevent wear upon and disorganization of the various elements that makeup the device.

Another object is to make provislon whereby the blade to be sharpenedmay be alternately stropped on opposite sides by reverse movements ofthe power axis so that the honing or stropping surface will be movedfirst in one direction and then in the opposite direction relative tothe blade, thus substantially obtaining the same efiect as 18 obtainedby hand honing and stropping.

Other objects and advantages may appear in the drawings filed herewithin connection with the subjoined detail description and it is noted thatwhile the broader features of the invention are not limited to certainminor details, some of said minor details, per so, are of greatimportance.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation on line indicated by 00 Figs. 2 and 3of a sharpener built in accordance with this invention, a blade insharpening position is also shown. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal mid-sectionon line indicated by of, Figs. 1 and 4. Fig. 3 is an enlargedlongitudinal section on line indicated by Fig. 1, portions being brokenSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 23, 1913.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Serial No. 808,513.

away to contract the view and the blade is indicated in broken lines.Fig. 4 is an eniarged fragmentary sectional elevation on line indicatedby w, Figs. 2 and 3.

Arrows on the section lines of the various views indicate the directionof sight.

The article to be sharpened may be the blade 64 of a razor or the like,a razor being fragmentally shown in the drawings as of the ordinaryjackknifing type and it is understood that the blade may be the blade ofa safety razor or other implement. Means are provided to rotatably mountthe blade a and for this purpose I provide a blade holder indicated at 1and having resilient leaves 2, 3 together forming a clamp which isdesigned to embrace the sides of the blade and which may be constructedas shown in the drawings from a single piece of material bent around theback of the blade. One of the leaves as 2 is extended at both ends toform fastening shanks 4, 5 which are adjustably mounted by screws orbolts 6 and slots 7 to shouldered stub shafts 8, 9 which together formthe axis of the blade holder 1. The stub shaft 9 is journaled in thehead 10 at one end of a semi-cylindrical blade holder inclosing jacketI) that is provided at its other end with a head 11 having an internalannular flange 12, within which is journaled a cylindrical flanged head13 of the blade holder 1 that may be integral with the stub shaft 8. Theflanged head 13 is provided with a collar 14 fastened by screws 151 andextending over the inner face of the annular flange 12, said flange l2,flanged head 13 and collar 14 together holding the blade holder 1against endwise movement in both directions.

The blade holder 1 is designed to hold the edge of the blade 64 againsta sharpening surface 15, that may be of any desired substances andcharacter, such as leather, stone or similar substances and said surfaceis preferably adapted for the sake of compactness to move in acylindrical path, and for this purpose said surface forms the periphcryof a cylindrical drum indicated in general at 16 to which the sharpeningsurface may be fastened by any suitable means as glue, not shown, incase the sharpening surface is not integral with the body 17 of thedrum. The drum 16 is rotatably mounted and for this purpose is providedwith a sleeve 18 which in this instance is formed integral with the head19 of the drum and which is j ournaled on an axis formed by a flangedstud 20 that is fastened by a nut 21 to the head 22 of a cylindricalbarrel 23 surrounding and protecting the sharpening surface 15.

From the foregoing it is clear that there are two axes and that the drum16 and its sharpening surface 15 can be turned on one of said axes ineither direction and also that the blade holder 1 can be turned on theother axis in either direction so as to pre sent either side of theblade holder toward the drum and consequently so that either side of theblade a can be moved into engagement with the sharpening surface.

Means are provided whereby to automatically turn the blade (4 from sideto side so as to present first One side and then the other side of theblade toward the sharpening surface 15 and for this purpose the two axesare connected by suitable gearing which will now be described.

The collar 14 is provided with and forms a spur gear wheel, there beingprovided for this purpose teeth 2 1 meshing with a spur gear pinion 25which is mounted on a suitable bracket 26 that is fastened by a screw 27and pin 28 to the head 22, and said pinion in turn meshes with anannular spur gear wheel 29 mounted on and adapted to turn with thesleeve excepting under certain conditions which will be statedhereinafter. It is now clear from the foregoing that when the drum 16 isturned by any suitable means, and in this instance by a handle 30projecting from the drum head 19, the gearing will operate to turn theblade holder 1 in the same direction as the drum turns to automaticallymove the blade a toward and from the drum.

Provision is made whereby lost motion or relative movement may occurbetween the axes under certain conditions as when the blade a comes intoengagement with the drum 16 and the construction relied upon to permitsuch lost motion constitutes pressure means to hold the blade againstthe drum with a desired amount and evenness of pres sure so as to effectsharpening of the blade edge, and for this purpose the spur gear wheel29 is not fixed to the sleeve 18 but is chambered to form one member ordisk 31 of a friction clutch, the other member of the friction clutchbeing formed by another disk 32 screw-threaded on or otherwise fixed tothe sleeve 18, the friction between said disks being augmented by awasher 33 of leather or other suitable material interposed between saiddisks and said disks being held toward one another to cause a desirableamount of friction by suitable means as a coil spring 3 1 whichsurrounds the sleeve 18 and which has its opposite ends bearing againstthe drum head 19 and a collar 35 that seats and is pressed against theclutch disk 31 and that is held against turning relative to the sleeve19 by means of a pin or screw 36 extending through said collar and intoa spline way 37 in the sleeve. It is now clear that when the blade athas been turned in one direction to cause it to engage the drum 16, thedrum may be further turned in said direction so as to cause relativemovement and friction between the surface of the drum and the blade.

The blade holder inclosing jacket I) is mounted on the drum inclosingbarrel 23 and may be suitably fastened thereto and, as shown in thedrawings, is hinged at 38 and said jacket is provided with slots 39,through which the heads of latching buttons 40 may pass. Thejacket 7)and barrel 23 constitute a case well adapted to protect the workingparts and the case may be provided with legs a1 as shown in thedrawings. The shaft 8 and flanged head 13 are cut away or slotted toproduce an orifice 4-2 through which the blade a may be inserted intothe jacket Z2 and through which the shank c of the blade may extend whenthe blade has been so inserted as in Fig. 2.

The leaves 2, 3 are flared outward from one another to form lips 1-3adjacent the orifice 12 so that the blade a may be readily insertedlaterally between said leaves.

The proportions and relations of the various elements hereinbeforedescribed may be varied to hold the blade a in such positions relativeto the sharpening surface 15 as would prove the most eflicacious and itis here particularly noted that a high degree of sharpening eiiiciencyis produced by constructing and organizing the various elements so as tohold the blade with its edge and one side of its back 03 in a plane esubstantially tangential to the drum 16 and its sharpening surface, asin Fig. 1, thus obtaining the same effect as though the blade were movedalong and laid flat against a sharpening surface extending in a planeproduced by the ordinary hand hone and strop.

In practice, the blade a may be inserted into the jacket 6 through theorifice 4:2 and the handle 30 will be operated to turn the drum 16 inthe direction, for instance, of the large feathered arrow thereon, Fig.1, thus turning one side of the blade toward the drum and bringing theedge of the blade against the drum in the position shown in Figs. 1 and4 and then the handle will be further operated in the direction of saidarrow to turn the drum while the blade is held at rest against the drumby reason of slippage occurring between the clutch disks 31 32. Thehandle 30 will then be operated in the reverse direction to turn theblade (1 with its opposite side toward the drum 16 to again bring theedge of the blade against the drum and to cause movement of the drumrelative to the blade as before, thus honing or stropping the bladefirst on one side and then on the other.

It is clear that drums having sharpening surfaces of differentsubstances may be provided and that the construction and relation of thevarious elements makes provision whereby a drum having a sharpeningsurface of a honing substance such as stone, for instance, may bereadily substituted for another drum having a sharpening surface of astropping substance such as leather, for instance, so that the bladesmay be successively honed and stropped by one device.

I claim:

1. In combination, a barrel, a jacket mounted on the barrel, a shapeningdrum r0- tatably mounted in the barrel, a fixed head for one end of thejacket, a blade holder pivoted in the fixed head and having a headclosing the other end of the jacket, said blade holder head having anorifice for insertion of the blade, and gearing operatably connectingthe drum to the blade holder, said gearing including a clutch designedto allow relative turning of the drum and blade holder.

2. In combination, a case having an axis, an open ended sharpening drumon said axis, means to turn the drum, a friction disk fixed to said axisand extending into the open end of the drum, a second friction diskreciprocatably mounted on said axis inside of the drum, a spring on saidaxis inside of the drum to force the second disk toward the other disk,a movably mounted blade holder, and gearing connecting the blade holderto the second disk to move the blade holder toward the drum when thedrum is turned.

3. In combination, an open ended barrel, a semi-cylindrical jacketmounted on the barrel, a cylindrical head at each end of said jacket,one of said acket heads having an internal annular flange, a bladeholder surrounded by the jacket and provided at one end with acylindrical flanged head that is ournaled in said annular flange andthat is provided with an orifice through which a razor blade may beinserted, the other end of said blade holder being provided with a stubshaft journaled in the other of said jacket heads, a collar detachablyfastened to said cylindrical flanged head and extending over the innerface of the annular flange, a stud fastened to the end of the barrel andextending therethrough, a sharpening drum rotatably .mounted on saidstud, and means operatably connecting said collar to said drum.

4:. In combination, a rotatably mounted drum, stub shafts, blade holdingleaves adjustably connected at their ends to said stub shafts so thatsaid leaves can be moved toward and from the drum to accommodate bladesof different widths.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California this 17th day of December 1913. I

TERUO SAKATA.

In presence of JAMES R. TOWNSEND, GEORGE H. HILES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patenta, Washington, D. 0.

